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Beards? Do we have to grow them?

Please RateWhy do Muslims grow beards? Is it mandatory in Islam? Why not shave like a normal person?

Quick Answer: "Don't shave if you don't have to."

According to the teachings of Islam, we have to believe and follow the Word of Almighty God (Allah) in the Quran. The Quran orders us to obey the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and he ordered us to leave our beards alone and let them grow. Whoever shaves his beard and is not forced to do it, should pay careful attention to what Islam teaches on the subject. [details below]

Please Note: For Muslims, it is not a matter of how we want to "interpret" whatever the Quran teaches us. Nor are translations acceptable as difinitive answers. Keep in mind that unlike the Bible of Christianity, we do possess the original Quran (recitation) in the hearts and minds of over 1 billion people. Over 9 million of us have memorized the entire Quran from cover to cover in the original Arabic language, jot for jot and dot for dot. Islam has the original and only version of the Last Testament. The Quran is most clear in the Arabic language.

Allah teaches us in Quran - we must obey His prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Quran states:
"But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith until they make you (Muhammad) judge in matters wherein they dispute, and come away without any resistance in their hearts against your decisions, and accept with full submission." [Surah An-Nisaa Chapter 4, Verse 65] Many verses tell us to "Obey Allah and His Messenger". While still others tell us, "Whoever has obeyed the messenger, has obeyed Allah." And in one verse Allah tells Muhammad, peace be upon him, to "Say, 'If you truly love Allah then follow me. Then Allah will love you and He will forgive your sins, for He is the Forgiver, the Merciful.'" [Surah Al Imran 3:31]

Now let us look to the teachings, sayings and traditions of our prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the most noted of all collections of hadeeths (narrations from the prophet), called "Sahih Al Bukhari":

Vol 7, Book 72. Dress: Hadith 780.
Narrated By Nafi': Ibn Umar said, The Prophet said, "Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the BEARDS and cut the moustaches short.'

Vol 9, Book 93. Hadith 651
Narrated By Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "There will emerge from the East some people who will recite the Qur'an but it will not exceed their throats and who will go out of the religion as an arrow passes through the game, and they will never come back to it unless the arrow, comes back to the middle of the bow (by itself) (i.e., impossible). The people asked, "What will their signs be?" He said, "Their sign will be the habit of shaving (of their BEARDS). (Fateh Al-Bari, Page 322, Vol. 17th)

The idea is not that you have to GROW your beard, as much as it is, you have to STOP CUTTING your beard.